Many children in need receive meals at school during the school week. But what happens on weekends? Our Backpack for Kids program was created to keep children from going hungry on non-school days.
We help 300 elementary school students every weekend through the school year. While our backpacks provide important nutrition, the school district has also seen an increase in attendance (the children must be present to receive and return the backpacks).
One students says this: "I am thankful for the food that we receive over the weekends because this year they were having an issue with NIPSCO. Sometimes they are out of food at home and this food helps them be able to eat until their mom receives her paycheck and she can buy food after paying for the bills."
There are more students in need.
We want to expand this program to make sure that no student in our area is hungry each weekend, but to do that we need additional funding.
It costs just under $100/year to feed one child (or about $10/month). You can give online here and, if you want to see us reach even more students, you can create your own goal and help us in this fundraising effort by sharing it with your friends.
Questions? Contact Captain Sarah Windell, here at The Salvation Army of LaPorte, 219-326-5342.